WELCOME TO THE SOCIETY OF INDEPENDENT BREWERS

ASSURED INDEPENDENT BRITISH CRAFT BREWERS

An ‘Assured Independent British Craft Brewer’ is a brewery which has agreed to abide by SIBA’s Food Safety & Quality standard – meaning you get a beer of the highest quality, crafted with the utmost care.

As the problem of keg and cask losses has grown, it has become apparent that an industry accredited and audited system for disposing of casks and kegs is essential to reduce the risk of misappropriation and enhance the chances of a successful prosecution in the event of illicit handling and disposing of containers.
The objective of the attached best practice is to ensure:
* Containers are only sold or scrapped by the containers’ legitimate owner or their appointed representative.
* Containers sold for scrapping are actually scrapped.

All scrap yards seeking accreditation must be sponsored by a brewery, ideally their closest local brewer. If BBPA members wish to nominate their local scrap yard for accreditation they should first provide a copy of the latest version of TC423 to the yard before contacting Steve Livens at the BBPA with all necessary contact details who will coordinate the process further.
Kegwatch Ltd, on behalf of the industry, will carry out the accreditation process. Once completed, details will be posted on the BBPA website. Whilst we would recommend that brewers use only accredited scrap yards, the scheme is entirely voluntary and brewers are in no way obliged to do so.

About Cask Colour Banding

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) & Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) maintain an informal container colour band registration scheme on behalf of UK brewers.
The colour band combinations are created using colours:

The colours shades derive from the British Standard BS 4800 series (1972) but similar shades are also used from the RAL system.
The bands are applied side by side, separated by a small gap, usually between the rolling rings of the containers.
– Single Bands are only noted to be in use because these pre-dated the scheme and were not allocated on an organised basis.
– Double Bands were originally registered by the BBPA exclusively on behalf of individual companies. However, some smaller brewers adopted similar colour bands without knowledge of the registration scheme and every effort has been made since to avoid duplication.
– Triple Bands were adopted when double colour combinations were exhausted.

Any queries or amendments should be directed to dsheen@beerandpub.com or containers@siba.co.uk.
This is a voluntary system with the aim of avoiding duplication. The BBPA and SIBA cannot be held responsible for any errors or misunderstandings arising from the sorting/collection of containers.
Colour bands should be regarded as an aid to identification and not a definitive system.
Containers should be identified by all means available, i.e. brewers name stamped on container, product labels etc.